


remember the days

by arashianelf



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Multi, gods!Arashi, well something like it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-02
Updated: 2015-06-02
Packaged: 2018-04-02 12:39:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4060360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arashianelf/pseuds/arashianelf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Waking up has never been this taxing. Well, in this cycle, at least.</p>
            </blockquote>





	remember the days

**Author's Note:**

> I have brought with me a new oneshot! I hope you guys enjoy this one! (I already have another idea brewing. God bless the holidays and the plot bunnies for only coming now.)

Jun wakes up.

Jun wakes up, and he remembers all that is and all that was, all that he can do.

And then he sighs.

"Guess it's my turn this time, huh. I'll have to get to it, then."

It's a cool day in the 21st century, and Jun wanders out of his apartment and onto the streets. He looks around with new knowledge and smiles, thinking to himself, to the ones not found, _Remember this? We created all this._

As he walks down the streets, he reminisces, as they always do when they first remember. He is reminded of the animals they created with every bird that flies overhead, with every squirrel that bounds up a tree as he passes by a park.

He looks down at the concrete pavement he is walking on and at the asphalt road, remembering how they created the ground and fauna that lay beneath them. There's a pattern to it, they know, and it's Jun's turn this round, to find them and to help them remember.

-

Jun is young, very young, and is surrounded by his brothers and sisters. Their kind is loose with the terms brothers and sisters, because they are not blood kin. It is ingrained in them from a very young age.

His mother calls his father brother, as does his aunt, and cousins. But there are no mothers or fathers, here. There are only brothers and sisters. They are not borne from another of their own kind, but from somewhere they do not know but remember faintly.

They choose their own names once they have developed enough to think autonomously, which is not slow at all. One of his brothers calls him over then, Masaki, his name is.

He goes over to him who is surrounded by three of their brothers, and stares at what he has cupped in his hands. A tiny creature lays in his cupped hands, fluttering its wings. A creation of Masaki's mind, his brothers tell him.

Another brother, centuries older than all five of them, passes by and notices it. 'Oh my,' he says, 'It's time to begin your lessons.' He then hurries off in the direction of the Elders, the ones who have lived for millenia.

The five of them exchange confused looks, then shrug and continue looking at Masaki's fragile creation, reaching out with their own powers to fiddle with its internal structure, and manipulate it to see what it can do. They start their lessons a long while later.

There is no day or night where they are, no days, months or years. It's a long time before they start using that. The indefinite length of time stretches on, as they create more lifeforms from their own imaginations.

They start their lessons with one of the Elders, all five of them, and they are taught, how to create. It is what their kind does, create worlds for lifeforms smaller than them to exist, lifeforms that they create from their own imaginations.

The world that they create is entirely theirs, and no one else is allowed to destroy it or make changes to it. It is not until later that they learn that their kind are called 'gods'.

Their lessons continue, and their creating becomes more and more complex under the Elder's tutelage. They become able to create anything they can think of, when before, all they could create was a tiny flying creature smaller than half a section of their fingers.

It is logical, then, that Aiba is the most skilled at creating between the five of them. He was the first one to create the little flying creature, after all. They still have not decided a name for it. Aiba is indecisive, the rest wanting to leave the decision to him. He thinks for a very, very long time, and names it a 'butterfly'.

And so, their first creature for the world they're going to create is born. The time passes, and soon the Elder deems them well-skilled enough to start creating a world of their own. Their older brothers and sisters are already in shelters that they created, wandering in their minds to begin imagining and creating the world that they want.  
But their brothers and sisters are creating a world for themselves. They are creating a world for the five of them.

They watch around them as their brothers and sisters disappear into the world that they have created with their own hands, wandering around the world and making more creatures as they go along, with a shell of a body left behind. It is what they do.

Once the basic form of their world has been formed, they delve deep into their minds and enter the world that they create, to observe up close what they have created, and what needs to be changed, added, removed.

The five of them observe the people and the worlds that have been created around them, and then clasp hands and imagine. They first create a shelter large enough for the five of them, and then they start imagining and creating, their hands clasped and glowing between them with the energy they are exerting and sharing.

They create a world of mountains that spew fire and green insentient lifeforms meant for survival. Then they turn their attention to the creatures that they will be creating.

As the time passes, more creatures are created, and they soon learn that each of them have their niches and favourites in terms of the type of creatures that they prefer to create.

So, they split the work. Satoshi focuses on the ones who will survive in water and water alone. Sho focuses on the ones that will be reproducing their young live, much like themselves - they have given much thought to the creatures that they want to create in this world that is entirely theirs.

Masaki works to create the animals that will soar through the skies like the butterfly he first created. Kazunari focuses on the little durable creatures that will breed and be either pests or beneficial to the creatures that they created.

Jun instead focuses on the surroundings, the things that their creatures will need to survive. They often work together, of course to create lifeforms that require their specialties, such as lifeforms that will both able to swim and give birth to their live young. There are many other things to consider, of course, and with time, they deal with all the aspects that they need to.

Finally, they are happy with what they have created, and sit back to enjoy their creatures roaming around the world that they have created for them. As they watch, they tweak certain aspects of their world, such as the atmosphere and making their creations go through what humans would call 'evolution'.

Slowly, they add new creations periodically, conferring with each other on what to create. This is what would eventually be called the 'dinosaur age'.

They observe for long periods of time, deciding as a whole that it is not time for them to integrate themselves into the world that they have created just yet. Then they register screaming in their peripheral hearing. It turns out that one of their sisters' worlds has been disrupted by one of their brothers' worlds colliding into hers by accident.

The shelters under which that sister and brother had sat shattered as their owners' concentration broke. Slowly, more and more people who were not yet integrated into their world were drawn out of their own worlds and rushed to their siblings to check the damage, their worlds left alone for a short while.

The five of them do so as well, rushing over to see what can be done. The spheres that contained the worlds which had collided are cracking, and one of the Elders rushs to get the two spheres out before anything is affected by it, but she is too slow.

The spheres shatter just as they passed the world that the five of their youngest and most talented have created, and sends a shard flying towards their sphere. The five of them stare in shock at the hair-line crack that appears and rushes back to their world, delving into their consciousness quickly to assess the damage.

They sit there for ages, patching whatever damage that has been done and recreating what has been lost. To their immense sadness, almost all their creations have been lost, either buried under the ground that Jun had created or vaporized when the shard hit their world.

-

They sat there for a long period of time, just mourning the loss of what they had created. No one had told them that losing creations would feel this way. An Elder drew them out of their world after a long period of time, and bade them to rest.

They did so reluctantly, minds whirring actively until they were horizontal, when their brains registered the exhaustion and shut down accordingly, allowing them to go to sleep. After they woke up, they discussed with each other what needed to be done, and set off for their shelter a short distance away, and sat down in a circle around their cracked and patched sphere.

It was an accident, and what had happened happened. There was nothing they could do about it except move forward, and move forward they would. The Elders would deal with the matter that had caused this in the first place.

Besides, theirs wasn't the only one affected. They all had to ensure that nothing like this would happen for a long while again. They delved into their consciousness and focused on creating new lifeforms, ones that would know how to evade danger and yet be able to maintain a cycle that would sustain the world that they had created.

They wanted smarter creatures that would be able to fend for themselves. They wanted... creatures like themselves. As soon as that idea was shared with the others, they knew that there were risks to it.

They would create lifeforms like themselves, but would give them lesser power, so that they would not destroy the world that their creators had made for them. And so thus began the first signs of mankind.

The cavemen were first, with the five of them being too afraid to give their creations too much intelligence. They realised their mistake, and introduced fire to them.

Slowly, as time passed without interruption from their brothers and sisters, they slowly allowed their creations to evolve, until they were what they were today, mankind in the 21st century. Back when mankind was first finding their place in the world, the five of them decided to integrate themselves into the world that they had created, just as many of their siblings had done.

They let go of the control that they had over the vessel that had housed their consciousness since they were first born, and delved into the world that they created.

It took a while for them to get used to society. After they did, they lived together and went out exploring, creating more unique creatures as they wandered. And wander they did. For half a thousand years, they travelled from place to place, improving on the place and creating new creatures.

Then they realised that being immortal amongst creations that had a shorter lifespan that they had imagined was not fun at all, and they set about fixing that problem. And so they settled down in a location to discuss what to do.

They decided to allow themselves to lose all the memories they had and grow up as a normal human child until they turned 21, which was when they would regain all their memories. They agreed on that decision, and hence a quarter of a century later, they met up again in the next cycle, as soon as they regained their memories and could find each other.

They realised how hard it was to find each other in the vast world they had created and hence allowed their human vessels to develop a sixth sense of sorts, one that would guide them to one of the other four.

As soon as they realised that, they decided that only one person had to remember their memories and would be entrusted the task of locating the others and make them remember through any form of contact, be it a handshake, hug, or kiss.

The next cycle after they decide on that and make it so, Satoshi is the first to remember, chosen by random. So on and so forth, they took turns remembering and finding the others, leaving the choice of who remembered to chance and fate.

After a few thousand years going through numerous cycles, though, they started turning to more... intimate methods of making their brothers remember.

-

And now, in the 21st century, it was Jun's turn to remember, and he wandered down the streets, past strangers hurrying to their destinations. The sixth sense was humming in his chest, seemingly pulling him in a direction. Jun followed dutifully, and ended up standing in front of a cafe. He pulled on his gloves that he had remembered to grab last minute, and entered the cafe.

"Welcome!" the barista at the counter called out. The sixth sense in Jun's chest tugged him forward towards the barista, and he knew that he had found him. He gave him his order and waited patiently at the counter, observing his brother.

From Jun's own appearance and the barista's, it seemed as if the Fates had given them the same appearances as they had when they first delved into their world. Grabbing his coffee when it was done, he flirted with the barista for a short while before he headed towards an empty table, planning to people-watch.

As he watched the people walk by, each with their own purpose, his mind jumped from topic to topic, such as how interesting it was that the Solar System, as the humans called it, was made up of worlds that had been created by their brothers and sisters who had created their worlds close by to the five of them, and that the Sun was all that remained of that catastrophic event that had seared itself into their minds.

Before he knew it, it was time to close, and Jun loitered around as the barista cleaned and closed up the cafe for the night. Jun knew that his charm had worked once more and followed the barista to his apartment, chatting and getting to know each other as they went.

Finally, they ended up in the barista's apartment. With his gloves still on, Jun grasped the barista's face and gave him a deep open-mouthed kiss. The barista responded eagerly, and Jun recognised the moment he started remembering when the barista stopped kissing back and slumped into Jun, leaning his weight into him.

Jun dragged him over to the couch and waited patiently for the barista to come back to him, petting his hair. After a while, the barista made a slight noise and shifted so that he was lying on top of Jun, and looked down at him.

"Jun," was all he said, but that one word held a million more. Jun nodded, and replied, "Masaki." Masaki smiled brilliantly and gave him a peck on the lips, before hugging him, albeit a bit awkwardly due to them being in a horizontal position.

"You're the one finding us this cycle, huh? Am I the first?" Masaki asked as soon as they were more comfortable, cuddled into each other. Jun nodded and yawned. "Walked a lot today," he sighed, tucking his face into Masaki's neck.

Masaki stroked the nape of his neck and nodded gently. "Rest, Jun. We'll find the others tomorrow, 'kay?" Masaki assured him, helping Jun to his bed and preparing for bed. Jun nodded sleepily and latched onto Masaki the moment he had turned off the lights and slid into bed.

"'night," Jun murmured, falling asleep soon after. Masaki was not far behind.

When he woke next morning to Masaki's familiar giggle, he tensed and then relaxed into the bed. He opened his eyes to find Masaki towering over him, cup of coffee in hand.

"Is that for me?" he yawned as he sat up. Masaki nodded, handing him the cup of ambrosia. "Thanks, Masaki," Jun said around the cup as he drank a mouthful of coffee. Soon after, he was dragged out of bed to have a proper breakfast with Masaki and showered, dressing himself with a set of Masaki's clothes that he did not find too fashionably appalling.

He then waited for Masaki as he called in sick to work and got ready to leave, the sixth sense burning once more. They stepped out of the apartment together, and then set off with Masaki trailing behind Jun.

"I have a feeling we're all in Japan," Jun commented to Masaki, who beamed brightly. "That's great! It means we don't have to waste money flying to another country," he said happily. He followed Jun like a puppy as they walked down the streets.

They walk for a long time, dawn melting into dusk, taking breaks only to rest and eat. They do not feel tired mentally, but their human vessels are exhausted, and they spend the night in a hotel. The next day, they set off once more, ending up in a university.

They walk in, eying their surroundings carefully. "I think you have to be the one to break the ice for this one, Masaki. I still need to touch him, but he's always felt at ease the most with you," Jun said, the sixth sense tugging him forward with more force, forcing him to speed up.

Masaki followed suit, nodding. They ended up outside a lecture hall, waiting for the time to be up. The students filed out of the hall, and after the last one had exited, the two of them enter the lecture hall to find the lecturer packing up his books and laptop.

Jun locks the door behind him, the click echoing around the hall. Pausing in his actions, the lecturer looks up and peers at them through his glasses. "May I help you?" he asks hesitantly. Masaki bounds forward excitedly, words spilling out of his mouth in a rush.

The lecturer laughs and interrupts him politely. "Perhaps an introduction first? I'm Sakurai Sho," the lecturer smiles. "Oh! So sorry about that! I'm Aiba Masaki, and this is..." Masaki trails off. "Matsumoto Jun," Jun smiled, stretching out a hand for him to shake.

When Sho takes his hand, Jun tightens his grip and tugs him forward, Masaki giggling beside him. "Hello," Jun says, giving him a kiss on the lips before straightening, hands still touching. Masaki is laughing without abandon now at Sho's bewildered face.

It's always fun, Jun muses, to freak each other out like this. "W-what?" Sho stammers, confused as to why this stranger suddenly kissed him, before he swept away in the torrent of memories that come crashing into his mind.

His grip tightens around Jun's hand. It always has taken longer for handshakes to incite the return of their memories. The kiss helped speed up the process, but intercourse is always the fastest way to make them remember, handshakes the slowest.

Sho comes back to himself, collapsing into the chair at the table. He lets go of Jun's hand to run it through his hair, the other removing his glasses, as if on autopilot. He blinks, and then looks up at the two men waiting patiently for him to remember.

"Jun. Masaki," he says, brain still processing. Masaki still hasn't stopped laughing, and Jun is smiling amusedly at him. "C'mon, Sho, let's get you somewhere we can catch up on each other's lives," Jun says, helping Sho pack his things and slings his bag over his shoulder, gesturing for Masaki to help Sho from the chair.

As the trio walk towards the door, Jun unlocks it and opens it, holding it for Sho and Masaki to walk out. Sho is mostly recovered now, but they make their way to a cafe and find a table somewhat cut off from the rest of the people in the cafe.

When Sho finally speaks, it is to say, "You're lucky I'm only a guest lecturer and not a permanent one." "Well, you would have quit anyway," Jun replied easily. "Well, yes, but it's so much hassle," Sho retorts.

They catch each other up on what they've been doing before they remembered, and after chatting for a while more, they return to Sho's apartment so that Sho can pack up whatever things he needs and join them on their journey to find the last two pieces to their puzzle.

The three sling their bags over their shoulder and continue on the journey, chatting about random things that pop into their heads. The next destination Jun's sixth sense tugs him in the direction is Tokyo Bay.

They chuckle when they realise where they're heading towards, and Sho says, smiling, "Well, at least we know who we're looking out for." Satoshi has never really gotten over his obsession with his marine creations in every cycle they can remember, and it is easy to find him sitting at the harbour, fishing pole in front of him.

"Excuse me," Sho goes up, and strikes up a conversation with their eldest brother. Satoshi is easily distracted, and it is easy for Sho to get him standing and away from his pole, easy for Jun to step up behind him and embrace him in a bear hug.

Satoshi struggles slightly, before he goes slack as he starts remembering. Masaki is keeping an eye on Satoshi's fishing pole and equipment while Sho and Jun take care of their eldest. Jun doesn't let go of their eldest, for Satoshi has always been extremely comfortable to hug, and he's not going to deprive himself of that.

Soon after, Satoshi's eyes focus again and his hands come up to tap at Jun's. Jun hums and lets him go. Predictably, Satoshi yawns before looking at Sho, Jun and Masaki in turn. "Hello," he smiles, but before he can say more, Masaki screeches, "Satoshi! The pole is twitching!”

Satoshi turns to see his fishing pole twitching and rushes forward, focused on getting one more catch. Before long, Satoshi places another fish in his cooler and beams up at the three looking at him do what he loves. "We'll have to get this to my friend before I do anything," Satoshi tells them mildly, packing up his things.

The others help to carry what they can and they trail Satoshi as he goes about his business. The sun is almost setting, and so Satoshi brings them into his apartment where he goes to take a shower first, inviting them to take a shared one if they are willing, and Masaki jumps into the shower excitably.

Sho turns up a while later, and then finally Masaki leaves for a moment to drag a grumbling Jun into the shower. Then, Satoshi unrolls the futons he has and pushes them together, creating a large mattress, and they fall asleep puppy-piled on each other.

When they wake the next morning, they discuss how they're going to get Kazunari to remember. Out of all of them, Kazunari always has given them the most trouble with his reticent and skeptical nature.

They come up with the bare bones of a plan and then set off to find the last member of their little group. The journey this time takes them three days, and they check in to random hotels that live up to Sho and Jun's standards, before setting off bright and early in the morning.

Finally, they end up in front of a convenience store where they can see a bored cashier playing with his DS. Muttering something that sounds suspiciously like "Scratch that plan, I'm just gonna go for it.", Jun stalks into the empty convenience store, hauls Kazunari up and kisses him.

The other three just watch on amusedly because Jun has been complaining about how exhausted he is for the past two days and cannot be bothered to do things properly anymore. Kazunari struggles against the stranger that is kissing him, his DS thrown on the cashier table.

His struggles are never-ending, until they finally stop. Jun stops kissing him then, placing him back onto his chair behind the cashier and waving the other three in. They come in dutifully, and Sho flips the sign hanging at the door to 'Closed'.

With a groan, Kazunari comes back to himself and looks at the four of them standing around him, before grumbling to Jun, "You made me lose my place in the game, you asshole." Jun promptly retorts bitingly, "Well, at least I'm not the one who is a shut-in."

The familiar bickering starts up again and the other three laugh at the familiar sight.

Before long, they are travelling the world again, using money that they have stashed away from their previous lives. They have fun, doing touristy things together and whatnot.

They trudge for days through the rainforests, searching for creatures that they have created and have not yet been found by mankind, and then they create a single new lifeform, one male and one female, before letting them go to live their new lives.

They enjoy the unpolluted air for a few days more before they rejoin civilisation, wandering the world that they created with own hands till the day they pass on, ready to start a new cycle and find one another again.

-

Sho wakes up one morning and remembers.

It's his turn now.

(He realises a moment later that he doesn't have to go on a journey to find the others, not in this cycle, because they're always near him on and off stage, four years after Arashi has debuted.)


End file.
